Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter |
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| September 28, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy | ||
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (Advert.)
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[Guidance Overview]
Red Flags Rule: Application to Health Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, Dependent Care Assistant Programs and Transportation Plans
Excerpt: "Under the Red Flags Rule, certain businesses and organizations must establish and implement a written Identity Theft Prevention Program (ITPP). To comply with the Red Flags Rules, a written ITPP must have four basic elements . . . ." (Groom Law Group)
[Guidance Overview]
EEOC Expands ADA's Definition of 'Disability' (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "On September 23, 2009, the EEOC published in the Federal Register a long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR)3 seeking to implement the ADAAA. The new proposed definition of 'disability' incorporates many medical impairments. The changes apply to both the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act (covering Federal employees)." (Alston+Bird)
[Guidance Overview]
EEOC Issues Proposed ADA Regulations and Other Guidance About Disabilities, Major Life Activities, Impairments and More
Excerpt: "The basic ADA definition of disability was retained -- as an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment -- but the ADA Amendments Act changed the way that these statutory terms should be interpreted. The EEOC has now issued proposed regulations and other interpretive guidance to reinstate a broader scope of protection under the ADA and make it easier for individuals under the ADA to establish that they have a disability." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview]
Insurer Not Liable for Discontinuing Small Group Supplemental Medical Policy
Excerpt: "We agree with this court's conclusion that the policy's termination did not violate HIPAA's prohibition on health status discrimination (which also applies to employer-sponsored health plans). HIPAA does not prohibit employers from making changes to their group health plan eligibility, benefits, or coverage provisions, so long as similarly situated individuals are treated the same and the change is not directed at individual participants or beneficiaries." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview]
IRS and Treasury Officials Provide Informal Views on COBRA Premium Subsidy Issues
Excerpt: "[O]fficials were asked whether an employee who was eligible to be added as a dependent under his spouse's health plan at all times before his involuntary termination is entitled to the COBRA premium subsidy. They responded that the employee was not entitled to the subsidy . . . ." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview]
IRS and Treasury Officials Provide Unofficial Views on Imputing Income for Health Coverage and More
Excerpt: "The Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (JCEB) of the American Bar Association has reported on its May 2009 Q&A session with IRS and Treasury officials. Highlights include . . . ." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
Washington Update for Sept. 25: Senate Finance Committee Begins Health Reform Markup
Excerpt: "The Senate Finance Committee began its health reform markup this week, considering approximately 50 amendments over a four-day period. The committee recessed shortly before noon [on Friday] and is scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday morning." (America's Health Insurance Plans)
Health Care Reform Plan Excise Tax Gets Little Support from Employers
Excerpt: "Few employers would support including a provision in health care reform legislation to tax insurers that provide costly health insurance plans as a way to generate revenue needed to expand access to health care coverage, according to a survey." (Workforce.com)
The Impact of Tort Reform on Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums
Excerpt: "Using a dataset of healthplans representing over 10 million Americans annually between 1998 and 2006, we find that caps on non-economic damages, collateral source reform, and joint and several liability reform reduce premiums by 1 to 2 percent each. These reductions are concentrated in PPOs rather than HMOs, suggesting that can HMOs can reduce 'defensive' healthcare costs even absent tort reform. The results are the first direct evidence that tort reform reduces healthcare costs in aggregate; prior research has focused on particular medical conditions." (National Bureau of Economic Research)
House Weighs 'Cadillac' Health Coverage Tax
Excerpt: "The Senate Finance bill would impose a 40% tax on insurers offering plans valued at $21,000 for families and $8,000 for individuals. Those thresholds would be allowed to rise annually, at a rate just above inflation. And certain groups, such as retirees not yet in Medicare, would be shielded." (The Wall Street Journal)
BenefitsLink Vendor Directory (Advert.)
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Official Guidance]From EBSA: 45 Frequently Asked Questions About the EFAST2 All-Electronic Filing System
Excerpt: "I heard that I will have to start filing the annual return/report (Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF) electronically. Can you tell me if that's true and when I would need to start? . . . How can I file my timely plan year 2008 annual return/report if it is due after January 1, 2010? . . . Short plan year 2009 annual returns/reports (Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF) may be due before EFAST2 can receive them in January 2010. How do I file these? . . . When can I register for EFAST2 electronic credentials to sign a Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF?" (Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor)
[Guidance Overview]
DOL Releases New FAQs on All-Electronic Form 5500 Filing Under EFAST2
Excerpt: "The DOL's EFAST website now contains 45 FAQs addressing EFAST2, the all-electronic filing system for Form 5500 that is scheduled to be available beginning January 2010. As background, final DOL regulations issued in 2007 require that all Form 5500s be filed electronically for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2009. (Because Form 5500 is generally due by the end of the seventh month following the end of the plan year, the vast majority of plan filers will have until at least July 2010 to make the changes necessary to allow electronic filing (without extensions).)" (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview]
Get a Head Start on Compensation Plan Risk Assessment for 2010 Proxy Season
Excerpt: "The SEC is expected to publish final rules later this Fall, which will apply to companies' 2010 proxy statements, and require that every company: [1] Evaluate whether any of its compensation plans or practices, including non-executive officer compensation plans and practices, include risk-taking incentives that may have a material effect on the company, and [2] Disclose the results of that evaluation and any steps the company has taken to manage or mitigate those risk-taking incentives" (Winston & Strawn LLP)
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation in Metropolitan Areas, March 2009
Excerpt: "In March 2009, employer costs for employee compensation in private industry averaged $27.46 per hour nationwide. Among 15 metropolitan areas, however, the costs ranged from $25.42 in Miami to $38.28 in San Jose-San Francisco." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Webcasts and Conferences
"To Roth or Not To Roth" Web SeminarNationwide on October 21, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
DB Plan Designs for 2009 and Later: Cash Balance and DB(k) Plans Webcast
Nationwide on October 20, 2009
presented by National Institute of Pension Administrators
Employee Benefits for Domestic Partners: Design, Taxation, and Administration
Nationwide on September 24, 2009
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
What's Ahead for Health Plan Costs in 2010? Webcast
Nationwide on October 8, 2009
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
(Click to post your webcast or conference)
Press Releases
Hyas Group Adds Investment Research VeteranHyas Group
(Click to post your press release)
Employee Benefits Jobs
Sales Representativefor Employee Online
in ANY STATE
401k/Benefit Plan Wholesaler
for Retirement/Benefit Plan Consulting, Administration & Recordkeeping Firm
in NY
(Click to post your job opening | View all jobs |
RSS feed of all jobs )
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
(Click on banner to learn more.)
| Where the best employers find the best candidates! |
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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